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Jason Statham : The Right Face For The Job

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Discovered
by film director Guy Ritchie, Jason Statham, 47, has made a name of himself in action
films. His latest film is “Wild Card” by Simon West who directed The
Expendables 2.

From cockney actor to star of action films such as Wild Card, has your
career gone the way you wanted?

The
change came with the first Transporter by Luc Besson. I’ve always been quite
sporty and kept in shape through competitive diving and martial arts. I was
delighted when I was asked to do my first action scenes-all those years of
training finally paid off! I really enjoyed it and the films went down well, so
I thought it was worthwhile nurturing this talent. In England there aren’t that
many ‘physical’ actors.

Sylvester
Stallone, with whom I’ve had the great honour of acting. And Michael Caine and
Bob Hoskins in England. Have you seen Get
Carter and The
Long Good Friday? They’re real men’s films; today it’s
difficult to find scripts of this quality. I don’t always appear in great
films, but you’ve got to eat. It wasn’t really my idea to do action films; it
was a lucky break and it doesn’t stop me acting in more scripted films like
Snatch and The Bank Job.

At 47, are you now looking for roles in drama films?

In
2013 I played a complex character who emerged from the pits of London in Crazy
Joe [Hummingbird aka Redemption] and I prepared the role by having contact with
homeless guys and veterans from the Iraqi war. I wanted to have more
heavyweight projects, but the phone went one morning and my agent said “I have
a role for you in a Hollywood action movie” and I naturally replied “Fine!”

During the making of Expendables 3 you had a near-fatal accident. Are
you now much more careful?

It
was stupid. Basically I was driving a lorry and swerved to avoid another
vehicle and the lorry fell into the sea. I couldn’t get out of the cockpit and
up to the surface because I had so much heavy gear on – guns, jacket and boots.
I nearly drowned! But these are the hazards of the business; there are always
times when things can go wrong. Acting is a combat sport!